So after the heavy snow that fell Saturday afternoon and into the evening I needed to decide on a plan of action. Should I stay low and local, avoiding the treacherous roads or should I head into the Lakes and up onto the high fells – for me this didn’t require much thought……head high.
The roads were not great but I made it to Rydal and, fully kitted up for all eventualities, I set-off with nab Scar being my first objective. The sky was blue and the sun shining but a low mist covered the lakes, what a fantastic sight. The going was hard under-foot, deep, soft snow and no one ahead of me to break trail.
After Nab Scar the snow got deeper, this was really hard work, not much chance of running. On to Heron Pike and Great Rigg where another runner catches me; he soon realises that by overtaking me he would be breaking trail and, not surprisingly, his pace slowed considerably and mine increased.
Unfortunately the good views on the way up came to an end on the summit of Fairfield, I was in mist and needed to concentrate hard as visibility and clarity reduced considerably. The descent from the summit over the rock sections was made much easier by the soft snow and the summits of Hart Crag and Dove Crag passed easily.
From here I was again out of the cloud and enjoying great views. At last I could run and made good progress down to High Pike and Low Pike, before then dropping down to Rydal Park and back to the car for a welcome cup of coffee and cake.
This was the fells at there best, great conditions and a classic route.
